Dynamically reconfigurable distributed interactive voice response system
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is a computer system and method that manages connections between one or more data network interfaces and one or more phone interfaces. A manager process, running on a computer system having both data and phone network interfaces, receives one or more telephone calls from one or more users over one of the phone interfaces and than accesses one or more profiles associated with each of the users. These profiles have one or more service identifiers and one or more interactive response agent (IRA) identifiers associated with the respective user. A menu of the service identifiers is presented to the user. The system then looks up an agent address of one of the IRAs that is associated with the service identifier selected by the user from the menu and establishes a session with the associated IRA. Having done this a two-way communication with the associated IRA occurs during the session. In this communication, the IRA is capable of passing information to the system from one or more application servers to which the IRA is connected over one or more data networks.
12 Citations
36 Claims
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1-16. -16. (canceled)
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17. A method of operating an agent to obtain information for a user from a Web site, the method comprising the steps of:
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the agent receiving a start request across an interface to establish a session;
in response to receiving said request, the agent sending across the interface an acknowledgement to establish the session;
during the established session, the agent entering a loop, including the steps of the agent receiving a request across the interface from a user for information, obtaining information from a Web site, sending the obtained information to the user, and monitoring for an end of session signal across the interface from the user;
the agent receiving across the interface from the user an end request to end the session; and
in response to receiving said end request, the agent ending the session. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An agent to obtain information for a user from a Web site, comprising:
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means for receiving a start request across an interface to establish a session;
means, acting in response to receiving said request, for sending across the interface an acknowledgement to establish the session;
means, operating while the session is established, for entering a loop to receive a request across the interface from a user for information, to obtain information from a Web site, to send the obtained information to the user, and to monitor for an end of session signed across the interface from the user;
means for receiving across the interface from the user an end request to end the session;
means, acting in response to receiving said end request, for ending the session. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for operating an agent to obtain information for a user from a Web site, said method steps comprising:
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the agent receiving a start request across an interface to establish a session;
in response to receiving said request, the agent sending across the interface an acknowledgement to establish the session;
during the established session, the agent entering a loop, including the steps of the agent receiving a request across the interface from a user for information, obtaining information from a Web site, sending the obtained information to the user; and
monitoring for an end of session signal across the interface from the user. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification